With Covered California’s three-month open-enrollment period starting Nov. 1, it’s a great time to shop for the best fit for your health coverage. During Covered California open enrollment, which runs through Jan. 31, consumers can choose among 11 name-brand health insurance plans that offer high-quality and affordable coverage. Read More

For these free gardening classes (fees for Make & Take classes), Armstrong Garden Centers will give tips and tricks on various topics and areas of interest. The Mission Valley/Grantville store is located at 10320 Friars Road; there are several other San Diego Armstrong locations. Sessions start at 9 a.m. Read More

Featured

“Small but mighty” is the unofficial motto for San Diego Habitat for Humanity (HFH). The staff and office, which is located in Grantville, may be small, but their volunteers and heart make big things happen.

“It’s a good karma circle,” Patty Kramer, who works in administration, said of the people and groups that pour into HFH and often receive assistance in return. Read More

The Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), a pond fairy of the still waters of Mission Trails Regional Park, has a wingspan of 48–50 mm. In California, males display a mostly pruinose sky-blue thorax and abdomen, and a distinctive white face with a black spot and jade-green eyes. Read More

Local author Toni Noel was the keynote speaker at the annual San Carlos Friends of the Library general membership meeting. Noel took us down memory lane describing both the early landscape (remember the Walker Scott building?) and the movers-and-makers of San Carlos. Read More

The 5-Peak Challenge enjoyed its first anniversary on Nov. 7. It continues to be a great success as nearly 4,000 people have successfully completed the challenge and registered their accomplishment with Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP). It certainly has accomplished its initial goal of expanding the horizons of hikers to more than just climbing Cowles Mountain. Hikers continually tell us how much they enjoyed the 5-Peak Challenge and how they have now discovered so many new places to hike in the park. MTRP has 60 miles of trails to be explored and enjoyed. Read More

San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN) won a total of seven awards at San Diego Press Club’s 43rd annual Excellence in Journalism Awards on Oct. 25 at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center at Market Creek. Read More

AVID (Advancement Via Individualized Determination) teacher extraordinaire Jodi Haff had a wonderful class surprise. A student who had graduated from Patrick Henry in 2006 came back to her classes to share his post-secondary experiences and how he discovered his career and business. Read More

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and so the La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club welcomes back singer/songwriter Roy Zimmerman to highlight our Dec. 7 Holiday Fest. Members remember Zimmerman’s hilarious and biting satire from last year’s party, and we should all be entertained anew given the last 12 months of political shenanigans. Read More

Taking flight: I recently joined East County business leaders for a special groundbreaking next to Gillespie Field.

We formally kicked off the first stage of construction for the Cajon Air Center, a planned, 70- acre hub of new hangers and other aviation-related businesses. The massive project is expected to create 1,200 jobs during construction and 440 permanent positions after that. Read More

The color burgundy seems like it is everywhere when it comes to fall clothing this year. Similar to a trendy fashion design, plant lovers these days have been far ahead of fashion houses in incorporating this color trend. Read More

It would be hard to find a lovelier off-the-beaten-track city to visit in Germany than Koblenz.

Ideally situated where the Mosel River flows into the Rhine, this city has a history dating back 2,000 years starting from when it was a Roman settlement. Today, it is a top tourist destination of stunning beauty with a rich history and culture and a thriving culinary scene. Read More

Many of our patrons may have noticed a few new faces behind the desk and assisting with programs. We are very fortunate to have some additional staff on board and look forward to introducing them in the next issue. For this issue, however, we thought we would formally introduce some of our long time staff. Read More

A hearty potluck, stacks of gifts for military children and Christmas joy rang through the home of Navajo Canyon Republican Women, Federated member Ginny Wisely as we gathered together for our annual holiday celebration and election of officers for the new year. Although not all of our candidates won and too many tax increases were passed, it was a good election for Republicans across the country and, after so many disappointing years in the past, it felt good to rejoice among friends. Read More

As an adult, the memories that remain from my mother’s battle with breast cancer are best described as hidden in a closet deep inside my mind. Like an unwanted dress pushed into the far end of the clothes rack, there is a desire to just get rid of it, but I know I have to keep it as a reminder of things past. Read More

Kiwanis move after 51 years

The last time the Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club needed a change of address form, Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States. The Vietnam War was still in its early stages. In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch was completed, while in Los Angeles, the Watts race riots boiled over. Read More

Our next San Carlos Area Council (SCAC) meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. in our branch library at 7265 Jackson Drive. Our meetings are open to the public. Our guest speakers will be Toni Noel, a top literary author who knows a lot about San Carlos, and Dennis Brown from Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP). Read More

Because of this newspaper’s publication schedule, this will be the last time we can make an announcement in the Mission Times Courier of our events schedule of holiday festivities — so mark your calendars now. Read More

October ushers in the first full production in San Diego Opera’s 2016-17 season. For an opera company that nearly closed in 2014, creative endeavors are booming, with an expansion of what makes a season plus several new programs and activities that are more than enough to discombobulate the usual general director. Read More